


Spider-Man Never Rests!

by Nanerich



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peter, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-29 17:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19404712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanerich/pseuds/Nanerich
Summary: Peter is on break from school and spend the week focused on patrolling. May has even given her ok for him to join a mission with the Avengers!Admittedly, it would be even more awesome, if Peter wasn't constantly treated like a little kid.But not for long; Peter was gonna show them all that he was just as worthy of being an Avenger as everyone else on the team.





	1. Chapter 1

This week was amazing. Peter was on break from school and May gave her ok for Spider-Man to be on patrol and Avengermission, “as long as they’re on earth!”  
“Trust me, I am never letting him leave this planet ever again!” Mr. Stark was very diligent about this rule. It was on the same level as the ‘don’t die’ rule and just above the ‘no sleeping on the ceiling’ one.  
Needless to say, Peter was extremely amped up and had been patrolling for three days straight. He was pretty sure that if he were to get hurt, he’d bleed a mix of energy drinks and coffee. And it worked incredibly well for him. Only this morning he had stopped three car thieves, two muggins and an armed robbery – and it was only 11 am!  
“Peter, the police scanner reports of a situation in a jewellery store on 67th street.”  
“Alright, KAREN, let’s go!” He swung through the street while his AI updated him on the situation.  
“There are 3 perps, holding 6 hostages, reportedly the shop owner, one saleswoman and four customers. They are armed, though the police are unsure of how much firepower they carry.”  
Peter swung around the corner and already saw the police cars surrounding the store. He stopped on a roof just across the street. He would have no choice to go through there.  
“KAREN, are there any other entries you can make out?”  
“The schematics only show a small window at the back of the building.”  
“Could I fit?”  
“Yes. But I advise you, not to go in there by yourself, at least speak to an officer first.”  
Peter was already on his way to the other side of the building. “If they hear me talking, they’ll know I’m a teen and won’t let me get near the store. Also, I’m on a roll.”  
The window was ajar, Peter managed to wedge it open without making too much noise. It was a tight fit, but he just could squeeze through.  
“Just shut the fuck up! Stay on the ground!”  
He could hear a man’s angry voice and followed the sound to the door, leading into the store. Quietly he cracked it open and glanced inside. The décor prevented the view out to the street, and someone pushed a cupboard in front of the glass doors to cover the view. The six hostages sat next to each other in front of the counter. One man stood in the middle, pointing a gun at them. Two others grabbed anything they could and filled their bags.  
“Seriously, man, how are we going to get out of this one? The cops are surrounding the place and there is no way out!”  
“Shut up and get the diamonds. Leave the rest to me.”  
Huh, good to know that there wasn’t everything dear between the perps. But still, Peter couldn’t just jump in there and blindly web at everything, he needed at least a bit of a plan. As far as he could tell, only the man in the middle, who seemed to be the leader, had a gun, so he should go down first. But just because he couldn’t see any, didn’t mean the other two weren’t armed, so he should take them down pretty much simultaneously and immediately after the other guy. He needed to wait, until all three of them had their backs to him.  
A few moments later he saw his chance. He pushed through the door and shot a web at the leader, who wrapped himself up, while turning around.  
“What the fuck?”  
Before anyone could really react, Peter shot webs at perps two and three, machine gun-style, covering most of their torsos. Just to make sure, he wrapped a long web around them, securing them in place.  
All in all, 11 seconds. Not bad at all.  
He turned to the hostages, helped them on their feet. “Are you guys alright?”  
“Uh, yeah.”  
“Alright, then.”  
Without too much trouble, he pushed the cupboard from the door. Peter ushered the hostages out, before parading the webbed gunmen. The looks the police officers gave him, were extremely funny.  
“You’re welcome!”, Peter yelled, and webbed off. From a nearby building he glanced down, trying to listen in on the incredulous chatter down on the street.  
“What the fuck just happened?”  
“I always thought those internet videos were fake, CGI or something.”  
Peter didn’t like to show off with his abilities, but hearing people be amazed by him… That was something.  
“Well done. Though it was very risky.”  
“Please, KAREN, no risk, no fun!”  
“That is debatable. But I do advise you to take a break, have some food. You have exerted yourself plenty this morning, let alone the last few days.”  
“I’m fine! Really.” He felt just fine! There was no reason for a robot of all people… well, things… to tell him that. “Just record an update for Mr. Stark. Hi Mr. Stark, just a quick update. Patrol is going well, took care of a few car thieves, robbers and freed some hostages from a jewellery store. So yeah, doing well, so far! Ok, See you later! KAREN, send it to FRIDAY, please.”  
“Of course. But you need to get some food. I am authorized to restrict any movement if I deem your actions irresponsible. So, have a snack.”  
“Ugh, fine!” Great, Mr. Starks baby-monitor-protocol should be called ‘helicopter-parenting’. “Do you remember where I left my bagpack? I have a sandwich in there.”  
“I have it chipped. Should I pull up the location?”  
“Yes, please.” After he had misplaced his bagpack for the umpteenth time, Mr. Stark got him one with an inbuilt tracker. In front of his eyes a map appeared, a red dot in the centre.  
“Ehm, KAREN, I’m pretty sure I didn’t leave it at the Avenger’s… “  
That was weird, why would Mr. Stark track his bag and bring it to the compound? He knew that Spider-Man was doing his rounds… “Well, I guess, we’ll head towards the compound then.”  
Peter got on his way, only stopped a few times, helping an elderly couple carrying the groceries, stopping the fourth car thief of the day and helped a mum whose baby and dog got locked inside the car. Naturally he was delayed even further, after all the dog needed to be petted for doing such an amazing job protecting little Babyboy Ben. “That is a great name.”  
But Karen, well, she kept on pulling up the Avengerslogo on his screen and Peter ignored her as well as he could, after all there was a dog. Until everything in his suit started to blink. With a heavy heart, Peter pulled away from Roxy, the Border Collie. “Have a wonderful day!”, he called as he swung away.  
“Ok, KAREN, what the hell? You know, never keep me from cute doggies!”  
“Don’t you think, you should worry more about your bag at the Avenger’s, though?”  
“I guess.” Still, cute pets were his weakness. And they deserve all the love!  
He neared the compound. Maybe, he could sneak in, get the bag without anyone noticing. “Can you tell where the bag is?”  
“I can ask FRIDAY.”  
“Nevermind.” If KAREN were to call FRIDAY, well, they could just call Mr. Stark directly, so why even bother. “Just ask her, where Mr. Stark is.” But any answer was moot. Mr. Stark stood by the door, his arms crossed.  
“Hey, Mr. Stark, what’s up?”  
“Come in. I made lunch.” Huh, he sounded almost angry…  
“Is that why you kidnapped my bagpack?”  
Mr. Stark put his hand on Peter’s back and all but pushed him towards the kitchen. “After past… instances… I have updated KAREN’s baby monitor and added the ‘temper-tantrum-protocol”, which informs me, when you’re being irresponsible and don’t listen to me, May or KAREN.”  
“Excuse me? How have I not been responsible? Only today I saved four cars, nine people and a baby and a dog!”  
“And that’s very noble. It is irresponsible how you treat yourself though. So, I have made lunch to make sure you’re eating something.”  
Great, now Peter got to be babysitted. “KAREN, you snitch!”, he hissed at his suit. Mr. Stark either didn’t hear or pretended not to and pushed Peter in a chair.  
“You are not leaving this kitchen, until I’m satisfied.”  
“Yes, sir!”  
“Don’t scoff at me, young man! I’m trying to keep you alive.”  
As much as Peter would have liked to grumble something along the lines of “yeah, whatever”, he thought better of it and dug into the giant plate of pasta. After a few spoons, Tony seemed to be a little calmer, and Peter decided to start the questioning.  
“So, what exactly is the temper-tantrum-protocol? I mean, what sets it of?” If he knew, maybe he could tweak it a bit…  
“Oh, no, you’ll just find a way to override it, or get Ned to do that…”  
Damnit, Mr. Stark really knew him to well.  
“I promise. I’m not going to tinker with it. And neither will Ned.”  
Mr. Stark took a deep breath. “Fine. It measures your calorie intake, vitals, reaction time and reflexes and any behaviour KAREN deems too risky. If they’re not proper, you either didn’t sleep, eat or drink enough.”  
“Mr. Stark, I appreciate you worrying about me, but don’t you think it’s a bit rich coming from you?” Peter knew this was a risky question, but hey, if Mr. Stark called it ‘temper-tantrum’, then this was exactly what he was gonna get and with all the sass Peter could muster up.  
Tony banged his spoon on the table, pointed at Peter, looking ready to cuss him out, but his face dropped just before he started speaking. Instead, he rubbed his eyes before admitting: “Yeah, I guess, you’re right. So take it from someone who knows: as important as Spider-Man is, Peter Parker is even more important. To your aunt, your friends, the Avengers, to me… I’ve made an investment in you, to see some teen in underoos become a hero. But if you take all that and use it to destroy yourself… Just take a moment to think about what it would do to those around you. You really think, I want to watch you doing that to yourself, to be the responsible one for you getting yourself killed?”  
Oh. That got a lot realer than he bargained for and Peter had no clue what to say or think and for a while the only sound was the clinking of the spoons against the plates.  
“I’m sorry.”  
“I know you are. Now, finish up your pasta, there’s chocolate pudding for desert.”  
And just like that, everything seemed alright between them again.  
“Go ahead then, tell me about that hostage thing.”  
Immensely proud, Peter told him everything, not leaving out any detail. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not, but that smile on Mr. Stark’s face looked like his ‘I’m-proud-of-you-grin’.  
“Not bad. I believe you really deserve that chocolate pudding.”  
“Yeah, I think so, too!”, Peter answered with a big grin.  
“Aren’t we modest?” Mr Stark rolled his eyes and got up to get the desert.  
“Learned it all from you”, Peter shot back.  
Tony set two bowls of pudding in front of them. “Yeah, that’s what worries me…”, he grumbled. “Alright, while you’re gobbling that up, listen, and please, just keep calm, alright?”  
That sounded promising. His mouth full on chocolate pudding he only managed to nod.  
“There is a mission.”  
Oooh, that sounded good…  
“And the Avengers could do with a certain Spiderling.”  
“OHHELLYESMRSTARK!!! IwilldefinitivelybeapartofthatanddomyabsoluteverybestandmakeyousoproudIpromise!”  
“Alright, take a breath. And please, swallow before speaking.”  
Peter couldn’t sit still anymore. It’s been forever since the last mission he got to join. He really couldn’t care less about some pudding-spews on the table and Mr. Stark’s face…  
“What is it?” Peter could feel his face beaming with excitement.  
“The aftermath of the vulture.”  
Oh shit. He had messed up.  
“Don’t worry, kid, it’s not on you. But there are still a bunch of these weapons out on the streets. We managed to trace them to one group and in one big, final scoop we can put an end to the affair, once and for all.”  
Sounded good so far…  
“Nat and Katniss are still staking out the place so we can have a better idea of what we’re up against. If we get all the intel we hope to by tonight, we’ll head out tomorrow afternoon.”  
Oh, it was really serious. Peter felt that weird feeling in his stomach, he didn’t get that during his normal patrols, only big Avengersmissions. It was a mix between excitement, anxiety, a bit of fear, but it was weirdly positive. His attention automatically spiked up, his senses dialled up to the max. He even felt himself sitting straighter.  
“What do you need me to do?”  
“Basically, web everything that moves. From a safe distance”, he added sternly. “There are four windows, one each side of the building. We’ll enter through there. Hammertime, Birdman, Capsicle, Anger Issues, Rhodey and me will burst in first, hopefully throwing them off, being a distraction, getting them to concentrate on us. You and Legolas will be our snipers, hopefully not being noticed too much up on the ceiling, as far from trouble as possible. Don’t argue, your mouth is still full if pudding. Nat, Armless, Vision and Wanda will try to locate and secure the weapons before joining the action. Simple enough, if going according to plan quick and painless.”  
“Alright.” It definitively didn’t sound simple and as painless than what Mr. Stark made it out to be.  
“Wait, if the op is already tomorrow, why only tell me now?” Did he not trust him?  
His face must have shown the hurt, because Mr. Stark was quick to reassure him otherwise. “I just wanted to make sure first I wouldn’t put you in danger for no reason. But we need you. And your freaky abilities.”  
“Then I’ll better bring them along!”  
“Good idea. Also, May knows, I’ve called her earlier, explained the situation and promised her to make sure you’ll be as far from the action as possible. She might also have made it clear in no uncertain terms that every little injury you get… well, she’ll make sure I’ll suffer them, too.”  
“I don’t doubt that for a second.”  
Aunt May could be legit scary. And as much as she supported his Spider-Manning, she was a lot more protective now that she knew what he was getting into in his spare time. The fact that even Ironman was scared off her probably said enough.  
“Yeah, I’d rather take on the entire US army by myself than face off against an angry Spider-Mama…”  
Peter giggled. “Never would purposefully put you through it.”  
“Good. Now, I’m satisfied. If you want to go back to patrolling, you have my blessing.” Mr. Stark leaned back in his chair.   
“Oh, really?” Peter smirked, leaning back as well.  
“I’m going to ignore the sass”, he scoffed. “One condition though: you’ll be home by nightfall, go to bed in time and get your eight hours of sleep. I need you sharp and rested tomorrow.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
Mr. Stark rolled his eyes. “Want to stay here tonight?”  
Night at the Avengers before the big mission? Sounded great, but… “Thanks, Mr. Stark, I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll stay home with May.” Obviously, Peter was the most protected of the Avengers, by the other Avengers, but you never knew, especially when it involved alien technology. Not that Peter was worried about dying, but it wouldn’t be the first time he got hurt.  
Mr. Stark seemed to get it. “Sure, I understand. Just get here tomorrow morning, around 10am, ok?”  
Peter nodded. “I will.”  
“Good. Now, here’s your bagpack. I made sure there’s enough to snack and I expect this box to be empty by tonight.”  
“Thanks. And thank you for lunch, it was delicious.”  
“I’m glad. Now, go off, be a friendly neighbourhood hero and feel free to send me an update tonight.”  
“I will! See you tomorrow!”  
4 pm. Peter sat up on a roof, his feet dangling off, enjoying the snack Mr. Stark had packed him.  
“Those are great cookies! KAREN, remind me to ask Mr. Stark for the recipe!”  
“Reminder saved.”  
The afternoon wasn’t as eventful as the morning had been, he mostly helped people with finding the way, a flat tire, a mugger and doing a few stunts for some teenagers. He mostly spent the time thinking about what might happen tomorrow, what to expect, after all he has had a few experiences with alien weapons. And the Guardians really helped them get their knowledge about space and aliens up to snuff. Peter really was friends with a talking racoon and a tree. His life really got weirder and weirder every year.  
After two pick pockets, a car accident and a cat up a tree, Peter headed on home, just as the sun was setting.  
“Alright, KAREN, please send an update to Mr. Stark.”  
“I am recording.”  
“Great. Hey Mr. Stark. Thanks again for the food, the lunch box is completely empty, and I am heading home as we speak. Not much happened this afternoon, most exciting thing was a car accident. No one got hurt too badly, three people are in the hospital, couple of broken bones but nothing more. The cars are towed, one is completely totalled. Oh, and I rescued a cat from a tree! Super fluffy, orange and white stripes. He’s called Toby and Cassidy, his owner, rescued him only a few months ago. He’s eight and a total cuddler. Totes adorable! Anyways, I’m home now, have a good evening and I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye! KAREN, send please!”  
A few moments later, Peter climbed through his bedroom window and quickly changed before heading out to the kitchen, where Aunt May stood over a big steaming pot.  
“Pete! Hey, how was your day? Was Spidey successful?”  
“Very!” Peter kissed her cheek, before grabbing the juice out of the fridge. “Bunch of car thieves, pick pockets, and oh yeah, derailed a hostage situation!”  
“Damn! Good job, love.” She held a spoon in front of his face. “Here, try.”  
It was really good; chicken-veggie stew. “Mhm, that’s great!”  
“Good. Set the table, then we can eat.”  
During his first plate he told May all about Spider-Man’s adventures of he day. And she looked proud as could be.  
During his second plate she told him about her day, what happened at work and how she accidentally bumped into Alec Baldwin.  
He was halfway through his third plate, when he brought up tomorrow’s mission. “Mr. Stark said, he informed you. Are you sure, you’re cool with me out there?”  
“Of course not. But I can accept it. I know that you’re not ‘normal’ – don’t give me that look, you know what I mean. I also know that Tony and the rest will do everything to keep you safe. And Tony knows what I will do to him, if they don’t. So, no, I’m not cool with it, but I know better than to keep you. How are you doing with it?”  
“I’m alright. Nervous, but alright. It’s a weird feeling, somewhere between anxious and excited. I won’t be in the immediate battle and you’re right, the other guys will make sure, I’m as far from harm as I can be.”  
Peter wasn’t exactly sure if he was really feeling this way or if he was saying that to calm May. Because, if he was totally honest, it was sometimes a little annoying to be handled with kid gloves. Hell, only today he picked a fight with Mr. Stark because his AI has a software literally called baby monitor, containing protocols like ‘training wheels’ or ‘temper tantrum’. He also did have more abilities than half his co-heroes but was still treated like the helpless kid. And he still felt like he had to proof himself to them, to proof himself a worthy Avenger. But if he told May all that, she might not let him go. So, just for her benefit, he decided to dial it down.  
“I’m confident you are perfectly capable of taking down a bunch of criminals, and I am so proud of you for helping everyone you can. Every time Spidey is on the news, or there’s an article, I just want to shout: ‘That’s my boy!’ Of course I don’t. And next thing I know you’re an Avenger. Like whaaaaat? You’re just growing up way too fast.”  
“Yeah, sorry about that. Can’t really help it though, that whole growing up thing just happens automatically…”  
“Don’t get smart. Do you want any more?” She pointed at his by now empty plate.   
“I think three helpings is enough. Ok, I’ll do the dishes and you’ll make a hot chocolate.”  
“Deal.”  
They enjoyed a nice and quiet TV evening, before Peter went off to bed at a reasonable hour, just as he promised Mr. Stark. And even though he was excited as hell for tomorrow, Peter fell fast asleep and slept all through the night dreaming of fluffy border collies and tigered cats.


	2. Chapter 2

“You ready for a mission?”  
Peter nodded, his mouth full of cereal.  
“Good. I have to work late, which sucks, I know. But I don’t want you to be by yourself after a mission, so you’ll stay at the compound and I’ll come there right after work, ok?”  
“Sounds like a good idea. I’ll still try to call you right after.”  
“I should hope so!”  
He got up and kissed May’s cheek. “I should get going, I need to be there on time.”  
Actually, Peter was way too early, but his nerves had Peter on high alert. It felt like when he had plans with his friends at 3pm, but got there no later than 2.45, just to make sure he didn’t miss anything.  
“Of course, love.” May got up and gave him a big hug. “Be safe out there, don’t do anything too risky and listen to the grown-ups. And, no matter what happens, know how proud I am of you and how much I love you!”  
“I love you, too.”  
“Alright then.” May grabbed his mask and pulled it over Peter’s head. “Go and save the world, Spider-Man!”

Peter didn’t rush for the compound. After all, he had more than enough time.  
“Peter, you can go to the compound already. You are allowed to be there early, you know.”  
“Yeah, I know, KAREN… I just want to clear my head before… you know…”  
“Before the mission you mean?”  
“Yup.” Peter wasn’t scared, if anything he was really looking forward to the mission. And that was kind of the issue. If he really was to proof himself, he shouldn’t be all hyper and excited, but calm and collected.  
Slowly but surely Peter made his way towards the compound, downing an energy drink. He needed to be alert, sharp as a tack and as awake as possible.  
“KAREN, can you please ask FRI where everybody’s at? I don’t want to go searching everywhere.”  
“The Avengers will be convening in the armoury. Mr. Stark knows that you’re on your way and welcomes you to join him in the kitchen first.”  
“What? I literally just had breakfast, I slept more than enough, what the hell could he possibly want from me?”  
“You’ll have to ask him yourself.”  
Man, he was the only superhero who had a babysitter, insisting to hold his hand at every turn. Didn’t Mr. Stark get that Peter didn’t need to be monitored 24/7? He wasn’t a little kid anymore…  
Breathe, Peter, you know how Mr. Stark gets when you’re having an attitude, no matter how much you might deserve being pissed. You’re here for a mission, to proof, you’re not a kid anymore! So, keep it together and it’ll work out just fine.  
“Heya kiddo.” Mr. Stark put his phone down when Peter walked into the kitchen. “How are you?”  
“What do your scanners say?” Ok, Peter deserved to be a bit sassy for the whole temper-tantrum-thingy. He fell on the chair opposite Tony’s and shot his mentor a grin.  
He just raised an eyebrow at Peter. “I meant, how are you doing, head-space wise.”  
“I’m good! Excited and looking forward to having this whole Vulture-mess finally sorted out.”  
“Good. Just wanted to make sure. You’ve been on some messed-up Avenger-missions, compared to that today’s mission is quite clean-cut.”  
“Yeah, you’re right. Alien tech and -weapons, sure, everyday business.”  
Tony laughed. “You may have fought less aliens than the rest of us, but you know just as much, if not more, about the tech.”  
“Yeah, I know I’m the smartest”, Peter answered with a smirk.  
“Bold statement, considering you’re talking to me.”  
Peter raised his eyebrow at Tony, who was undoubtedly one of the smartest people alive and Peter could only hope to get on his level one day. At Peter’s age, Tony was already at MIT! But it just made such a great topic for banter.  
“How are you doing? Head-space wise…”  
Well, Tony was not used to be asked this question. “I’m alright. Done this a few times, you know…”  
“Yeah, but still. It doesn’t mean that you are perfectly chill about missions like that. Not even Ironman is made of iron…”  
“Kid, this whole mentor-mentee thing means that I take care of you, not the other way round…”  
He really wasn’t used to be taken care of and Peter would not let it slide. “Tough. I’m worried about you, too. That’s just how this thing works. So, how are you doing?”  
“I’m alright, really.” Tony smiled, that real smile, not the TV-one. “I have a good team with me, all very amazing people – don’t tell them I said that – people that I trust with my life, hell, I trust them with Pepper’s and your life. I think that says it all.”  
“Good.” Peter could accept that answer.  
“You ok with your normal suit or do you want to wear the Iron-Spider one?” Change of topic then, alright…  
“Like you don’t already know the answer…” Peter loved his regular suit, but the Iron one was his official Avenger-mission suit. And Tony knew that.  
“Alright then, go and suit up and be in the armoury in 10 minutes.”  
“Be right there!”

When Peter got to the armoury a few minutes later, the other Avengers had already assembled. Man, in his Iron-Spidersuit he felt really powerful, even whilst standing between Thor and Captain America.  
“Listen up 2s, a 10 is speaking. Not you, Pete, you’re fantastic and we’re thrilled to have you.”  
“Tones, that kid is rubbing off on you.”  
“Don’t listen to Mr. War Machine, you’re doing great!” Peter held both his thumbs up.  
“Thanks, kid. Now, Nat, Clint, you staked the place out. Any idea what we’re up against?”  
“We’re dealing with 30 perps”, Nat explained.  
Clint pulled up a map of the area. “Each side of the building has one guard patrolling and there are two sentinels on the roof. There are a few posts in the surrounding buildings. Inside it’s basically one big workshop, two small offices and sort of a storage room, where the good stuff is hidden.”  
Now Captain America took the ropes, like usual. “We’ll start in the surrounding buildings, scour for any posts and guards there. Obviously, we’ll want to take out the guards as quietly as possible. Clint, you take the sentinels on the roof, knock them out. Nat, Bucky, Sam and I will take care of the patrols, all stealthily, so we can have the element of surprise to our advantage when we storm the building. Bruce, Hulk’ll smash his way through the back with Bucky, me and Nat storm through the front door. Vision, Wanda and Tony fly through the East window, Sam, Rhodey and Thor take the west one. The plan is to herd them towards the centre of the hall, surround them as well as we can. Peter, you and Clint follow through the windows and position yourselves on high grounds and shoot at everything that moves. I believe that if we manage to pull it off like that, we should be able to pull it off without too much trouble.”  
Wow, that was a lot of information. Peter didn’t have to big a role in this, but still. They counted on him, and if they felt like they needed to take extra good care of him, they didn’t show it.  
“Sounds easy enough.”  
“Suit up everyone, wheels up in 15.”  
For reasons of inconspicuousness they rode there in a white van. Yes, it would be very telling, having a formation of motorbikes and flying superheroes heading for an abandoned factory, but Peter felt a little like going on a field trip. The tension was high, but everyone played right over it and it almost felt like they were doing it for Peter’s sake. Well, if it made them feel better…   
Peter: Hey May, we’re heading out there now. Mr. Rogers briefed us all and it doesn’t sound all that bad, but still, little anxious though… Anyways, I’ll call you later. Love you!  
\-------  
Ned: Good luck on your mission! If you need your guy in a chair, I am on high alert!  
MJ: Maybe don’t die this time, though?  
Ned: True that!  
Peter: Don’t worry, been there, done that…  
MJ: Good. If you die, I’ll kill you myself.  
Peter: Oooooh, I like you, too, MJ    
Ned: You left yet?  
Peter: Yeah, we’re just on our way there, should be there soon.  
“Peter! This is a classified mission! No tweeting it.”  
“I’m just texting with Ned and MJ. They’re part of Spider-Team anyways. What I know, they deserve to know as well.”  
“Let me see…” Bucky took Peter’s phone out of his hands.  
“Hey, give it back!”  
Ned: So, what is the plan? Web in, grab the weapons, web out?  
MJ: Don’t destroy another high-tech plane  
Ned: Or take down any more in-laws…  
Peter: That is classified.  
MJ: Lame!  
Ned: Since when? You always tell us everything!”  
“Really? They know about our missions?”  
“Peter”, Rhodey sighed, “you can’t just run around, telling some high schoolers about secret Avenger-missions!”  
Peter: Well, I can’t tell you anymore.  
Ned: Who are you, and what have you done with Peter?  
Peter: Hi kids, this is Bucky Barnes. Like I said before, this mission is classified and under wraps as ordered by Captain America himself.  
“Since when do you listen to anything I ‘order’? You haven’t in the 30s and you certainly don’t now.”  
“Yeah, but the kids don’t know that.”  
Oh, fucking hell. While all this happened, Peter tried to get his phone back – without any success. Why were they making such a big deal about him telling his friends? Of course they knew, he told them everything.  
“KAREN, restrict access to my phone.” Just like that, the screen went dark.  
“Oh, come on, kid!”  
“I guess he’s too smart for you, Barnes.” Tony, who was driving, grinned into the rear-view mirror.  
But Bucky kept the phone in his hands. “You’ll get this back after the mission.”  
“Ok.” Peter stared him right in the eyes. “KAREN, please send the following to MJ and Ned: Sorry guys, but I gotta go. Bucky has confiscated my phone and I don’t feel like starting a webbing fight in here. I’ll message you when we’ve beat the bad guys. Laters!”  
“Message is sent.” Karen’s voice echoed through the van. Bucky looked defeated, Peter grinned triumphantly, and the rest laughed quietly.  
“The kid showed you”, Nat snickered.  
“Yeah, well… ugh, whatever.” Bucky turned away and stared straight ahead.  
“Come on, kid, what did I teach you about respecting the elderly?”  
“I’m sorry, Bucky, but I’m not some dumb kid, and neither are my friends. You can trust us!” Peter was only a little annoyed and slightly upset that he and his friends still hadn’t earned their trust, but he tried hard not to let his emotions show. “Besides, without Ned those guys would be led by the Vulture and have your whole plane of alien tech.”  
“You’re right. I’m sorry, kid.”  
Peter just nodded. It’s not like he was mad, but his suspicion that he still had to proof himself, was confirmed. But they didn’t question his abilities as much as his loyalty, which was very weird, because no one ever questioned that before.  
He couldn’t help but notice Mr. Stark watching him through the rear-view, looking… concerned?  
No, that didn’t matter now. Peter just had to shake everything off. He was not just some teenager, he was Spider-Man, he was an Avenger and he was needed on a mission. They could doubt his abilities and loyalties all they wanted, but they needed him and his special powers. He could do stuff half the Avengers could only dream about! And Peter just needed to believe in himself.  
“May has send a message, do you want me to read it to you?” KAREN’s voice brought Peter back.  
“Yes please. But quietly!”, he added. A while ago, Peter and Ned updated the speakers to include the headphones-protocol, for situations just like this: a message from May, only for his eyes, or ears; quiet enough that only Peter could hear it.  
“Hey Pete, don’t worry, I know you will do fantastic! I am so proud of both, Spider-Man and Peter! The Avengers would be lost without you. I love you so much!”

“Ok, everyone, we’ll take the rest by foot, or air.” Tony parked the car next to an old, rusty gate. “Be alert. The main boom is in the big building in the centre, but in each of the smaller buildings around are guards. We’ll surround the buildings in the groups Cap assigned. Clint, you’re with Bruce and Barnes, Pete, you’ll stay with me. Everyone clear?”  
Everyone nodded and checked their comms, before disappearing between the brick buildings. Except for Tony, Peter was grouped with Vision and Wanda. There were two buildings on their side of the compound, Wanda and Vision took one, Peter and Tony the other one. Pete went up first, with his abilities to walk on the ceiling and walls he could scout any rooms ahead, Mr. Stark following his all clear, ready to shoot anyone he might see. But nothing happened, their building was empty. Over the comms they heard Wanda taking out a bad guy in the other one.  
They positioned themselves on the roof from where they would crash into the lair.  
“It’s not a lair.”  
“They are bad guys, ergo, it’s a lair.”  
Wanda and Vision had taken their positions on the roof as well, now they had to wait for the guards and sentinels to be taken out and for Captain America to give the signal, before they’d storm the building.  
“You want to talk about it?” Mr. Stark whispered, Peter doubted the others could hear it. They sometimes communicated like this, whispering so quietly that only Peter with his heightened senses could hear it.  
“’bout what?”, Peter whispered back.  
“About the car ride here.” Tony didn’t look at him, but that worry that Peter thought he saw in his eyes earlier… well apparently he hadn’t imagined it.  
“Nope.”  
It was nice that Mr. Stark cared, but they were on a mission and all that was Peter’s load to deal with and right now they needed Spider-Man. So no, he did not want to talk feelings, he was ready to kick some ass.  
“Alright, just know that I’m here, ok?”  
Peter just nodded, his eyes pierced on the roof across them. He didn’t see the arrows fly, but all of a sudden, the two guards fell, and moments later, someone waved. Hawkeye. Ok, things were about to get serious.   
“Guards are down, get in position”, he heard Captain America through his comms.  
He nodded at Tony, who whispered a “good luck, kiddo”, before Peter swung across the complex and joined Clint on the roof.   
“Good job, Hawkeye!”  
“Thanks, kid. The others will storm the building any moment now. We’ll give them a bit to stir up as much confusion as possible, before we’ll head in there ourselves. You take this window, I’ll take the other, alright?”  
Eagerly, Peter nodded.  
“On my signal”, he heard on the comms, “three, two, one, breach!”  
And things got loud. Everyone rushed into the building, he heard Hulk smash through the wall, the glass shattered when Ironman on the one side and Thor on the other flew in. He heard the shouts of definitively surprised bad guys, he heard weapons being fired, commands being called through the hall, through his comms.  
“Spider-Man, Hawkeye, get ready.” Peter headed towards his assigned window, waiting for Cap’s signal. “NOW!”  
Clint, who was in some kind of harness, swung over the roofs edge and Peter could immediately hear arrows whooshing through the air. He went the same way, webbed his way in through the window and stuck himself up in the corner. Nobody seemed to have noticed him, so he took a moment to assess the situation. Herding the perps in the middle hadn’t work as well as they had hoped. There was a huge pile of what he assumed were weapons and the perps knew how to use them, so, first of all, get them out the way. He crawled along the ceiling until he was right on top of the pile.  
“KAREN, activate nets!”  
Ok, he had only one shot at this. And he would definitively be noticed after this. Yeah, well, there goes nothing. Peter jumped off the ceiling and shot a net-web straight down, already sticking some of the weapons together.  
“Damnit Spider-Man, I told you to stay on the ceiling and stay away from the danger!”  
“Don’t worry Mr… Ironman, I got this!”  
Peter swung back and forth a few more times, before the pile was covered. During his first two swing-throughs, the perps were still too surprised to react, but they got back on their feet quickly.  
“Someone cover the kid for fuck’s sake!”  
Oh no, Peter could manage by himself. This is it, Peter, this is where you proof yourself! Peter took a deep breath, trying to sense everything in the room, the heroes, the bad guys, the weapons. If he continued swinging straight for the pile of weapons, he would get blasted by who-knows-what, so he had to cascade.  
“KAREN, bungee-web!” He jumped through the air like a fleeing rabbit. “You’re getting webbed, you’re getting webbed, everybody is getting webbed!”  
“SPIDER-MAN, YOU’RE NOT OPRAH!”  
Ouh, Mr. Stark sounded angry… But that didn’t matter now. He almost had the pile covered in his webs, sticking them together, not usable anymore. He took his stance on the ceiling for a short moment, checking what went on. Only one more net and their supply was taken care off.   
“KAREN, can you combine the tazer-web and the net?”  
“I don’t see why not.”  
“Alright. But only stun, I don’t want to kill anyone.”  
And he jumped back down. Three guys were standing in front of the covered spot. With one shot he could web them and the weapons together, the tazer knocking them out.  
“Get that Spider, on my count!” Three guns were pointed towards him. Mhm, don’t tell May about that… “Three… Two… One…”  
Before he could give the fire-order, Peter shot a tazer web, getting them off balance, before he could web everything up. Seconds later, he was back on the ceiling, the weapons taken care off. He took a deep breath. What next?  
“Good job, Spidey, but please, just stay up there and web the perps that get to close.”  
Yeah, like hell he would. He didn’t have spiderpowers for nothing. But if he really wanted to show the Avengers his capabilities, he couldn’t just swing down there and start webbing half-assed. But in this madness, maybe it was the only thing to do… And, technically, he would follow his orders, just a little lower than initially agreed upon.   
If he timed it correctly, he could take out one guy at a time, while swinging through the hall. In the corner of his eyes, he saw lighting going up, and he used that short moment of confusion to swing through and web a guy with a weird, purple gun to the wall. Moments later he was back up on the ceiling.  
“Seriously, can no one get that fucking spider?” Don’t count on it, bad guy…  
It worked well, he managed to get a few of the guys that way, with barely a close call on crashing.  
“Again, doing good, Spider-Man, but remember what’ll happen to me if you get hurt…”  
Peter planned on ignoring Mr. Stark, when his senses alerted him to immediate danger for him. A guy with a similar purple gun aimed at Mr. Stark who had his back turned. Acting on instinct, Peter shot a web at Tony and pulled him up, just as the bad guy pulled the trigger. A purple ball shot through, just underneath Tony’s legs and hit the guy he was fighting.  
“What the hell?”  
“You’re welcome.” Peter shot a web at the shooter, before lowering Mr. Stark again to the ground, before swinging towards the other side of the hall, where the wall was looking dangerously crumbly.  
“Guys, this wall is gonna come down.”  
“Then get out of there, kid!”  
“KAREN, give me a structural analysis.”  
“When the Hulk crashed through, it caused some strain on the carrying beams, who have been further damaged during the fight. Any supporting scaffolding is practically non-existent at this point and the bricks can’t support the weight of the ceiling for much longer. It takes no more than three more blasts for this wall and the entire building to collapse.”  
“Guys, you heard KAREN! Stay away from the north wall!” Peter yelled, before addressing his AI again. “So, how can I fix it?”  
“I’m not sure your powers can create scaffolding. And covering it in webs is as much help as duct tape. I advise to evacuate this building, as fast as possible.”  
“But then the bad guys get away!”  
“If you stay, they will be dead”, KAREN stated matter-of-factly.  
“Alright everyone, you heard KAREN. If we don’t evacuate now, we’re going to be buried under all that rubble, and I really don’t need to do that again. So, get a move on people!”  
It was almost funny that Peter took charge, but what was even better, was that they actually listened to him!  
“Get everyone out and into the southern building! Hulk, Thor, you’ll make sure no one escapes!”  
Peter took care of the people he webbed. He quickly cut them loose, but webbed them together, like he did with the hostage-takers yesterday and Sam got them out.  
“KAREN, how much longer?”  
“I predict structure failure in two minutes.”  
But still, there were three perps, armed to the teeth with those weird glowing weapons, determined to stay with their load.  
“Guys, you cannot win here!”, Peter yelled at them, “the building’s about to collapse and we just want to get you to safety!”  
They stood still, like they were waiting. His spider-sense went off, probably for the collapsing wall, or so he thought. Instead, he felt a gun against his back.  
“So, you’re the guy who got Toomes arrested. Been dying to meet you, Spider-Man. And end you.”  
“Hey, man, listen, you can threaten me some more outside, but this whole thing is going to crash down on us, so can you maybe end me out there?”  
“Man, to think a fucking kid took him down.”  
“Well, this fucking kid might just be smarter than all of you, so maybe just listen to him when he tells you that this building is going to land on your head.” Mr. Stark walked back into the building, his hands raised up. If he didn’t know him, Peter wouldn’t have noticed the slight worry in his tone.  
“Less than a minute until complete structural failure.”  
“Ok, tinman, listen. This is between me and that little insect.”  
“Not an insect.”  
“What?”  
“Spiders aren’t insects. They’re arachnids.”  
“Oh, so you’re a smart-ass as well. Still, Stark, beat it. I am going to take care of this little… arachnid.”  
“Thank you. Mr. Stark, take those guys to safety, I handle him.”  
“I’m not leaving a man behind.”  
Damnit, Tony! Peter could handle that, he had superpowers. Tony didn’t!  
“20 seconds until structural failure.”  
“Damnit, Mr. Stark. Get those guys,” who were now pointing their guns at Tony, “out of here, I’ll be right there. Promise.”  
He took a deep breath and grumbled something, before half pushing-half flying the three gunmen out the house.  
“Well, then Spider-Man. Time for you to leave us as well.”  
“You know that you’re not getting out of this alive, you know right?” Oh, Damnit, he really was getting another building falling down on him. If he wasn’t being shot first. “So, what’s your plan?”  
“Ten seconds until structural failure.”  
“I got the power of aliens on my side. You’re just gonna get pancaked.” With that, the guy pressed a button before being engulfed in some blueish light. “Absolutely crash proof. And while your Avengerfriends look for you, I got more than enough time to get away… Plus the added bonus of your bones crushing…”  
Peter heard the sound of rocks crumbling. Ok, something to shield him. Wait… was that glowy thing sticky? Stones were crashing down around them, Peter had to act now. In a quick movement, he shot a web at the glowing perp and it stuck! Before the bad guy could react, Peter pulled him, right on top of himself.  
“The fuck you doing?”  
And the entire ceiling rained down.


	3. Chapter 3

“PEEEEEEEEETEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!!”  
He heard Tony’s voice through the sound of rocks and rubble crashing down around them. He just wanted to tell him that he was alright, but his comms didn’t work. He tried to steady his breathing, which was hard thanks to the dust all around. Rocks were hitting his legs and arms, he curled up and protected his head.  
And suddenly everything was quiet again. Peter was pretty sure he was still alive… He managed to turn around a little. The glowing bubble over him was covered in rubble and rocks and the perp inside was knocked out cold. Great, he got to lift a building and a bad guy off himself again.  
“Kid, where the fuck are you? Hulk, get that stuff away!”  
“Hngggggaaaaaa!” With a loud grunt, Peter pushed a bunch of rubble of him and climbed out through the boulders.  
“KID! Oh for fucks sake!” Peter was barely out of the rubbles, when a red iron arm pulled him into the air. “Kid, talk to me, Peter, what the fuck, what… Are you alright? Are you hurt? Talk to me, why don’t you answer?”  
“Because you’re not giving me a fucking chance to!”  
“Oh, he’s alright.”  
“Of course he’s not, Barnes, a fucking building just fell on him!”  
“I’m fine, Mr. Stark. Survived it before, I’ll survive it a second time.” The moment he said it, he regretted it.  
“That happened before?” Oh, the look on Mr. Stark’s face was not good. But Peter did not want to deal with this right now.  
“Can we please deal with this later? There are still a whole bunch of perps to be taken care of and we don’t have all day.” With that, Peter climbed back towards the bubbled perp and pulled him out of the rubble. “He got knocked out when the building collapsed. Shielded me, so he did something good…”  
Peter lifted the guy and carried him bridal style out of what was left of the house, passing the very shocked looking Avengers.  
After a moment of shock, Captain America ran after him. “Good job, kid. I’m proud of you. Rhodey is calling Fury, he’ll be here with a prisoner transfer any moment.”  
“Good.” Peter put the perp down, where the others were tied up, before he went back out and leaned against the wall. He would have liked to just slide down and take a breather, but no. He was proofing himself, showing everyone how professional he was and how worthy he was of being an Avenger. So he stood watch and he would not rest until the bad guys were secure.  
“Hey kid, you can just relax. You done incredible.” Clint leaned next to Peter. “There are enough of us to stand watch.”  
“I’m alright.”  
“I know you are. I mean, it’s not like an entire building just fell on you. For the second time”, he added with what was almost a grin.  
“Yeah, if Mr. Stark catches you grinning about that, you won’t need a quiver for your bows anymore”, Peter snickered.  
“Ouch. But yeah, you’re right…”  
“Where is Mr. Stark by the way? I’m surprised he hasn’t force-fed me two bottles of water, a bunch of energybars, wrapped me in fifteen blankets and flew me straight to the medbay”, he scoffed.  
“Yeah, he was very close on doing all those things, not necessarily in that order. He almost went mental when that building came down, but, after you crawled out of that rubble, Rhodey talked some sense into him, more or less. Told him to lay off you for a bit, let you handle yourself”, he patted Peter on the shoulder, “which I know you can do. I think we all still need to learn that you’re not just a kid and that we are not your nannies.”  
“You have no idea how much that means to me.” Relieved, Peter smiled at him.  
“I can imagine. And I’m sorry.”  
“For what?”  
“That you had to bury yourself under a building to proof something to the rest of us.”  
“Oh. That. Yeah, but that’s not your fault…”  
“The collapse isn’t. Ok, Hulk probably had a thing or two to do with it. But the proofing yourself. That’s on us. And I’m really, really sorry.”  
“Thanks. Maybe, eventually, the rest’ll get it as well.”  
Clint patted his shoulder before leaving Peter to stand guard. He was really grateful that Clint didn’t try to persuade him to take a break and let him to his duty. Maybe things were turning around…  
Pretty soon afterwards, the convoy for the prisoners arrived. Some of the others went along to make sure everything went smoothly, Peter didn’t register who it was, and didn’t really care. The rest of them met up by the van. It was weird, Mr. Stark still kept his distance.  
“Is everyone alright or does somebody need to be flown to the medbay?”  
He didn’t look at him, but Peter – and the others – knew that Tony was talking to him.  
No one spoke up, Peter just shook his head silently. He was fine. Or at least not ready to give in yet. Pretty sure he had plenty of cuts and bruises and his suit wasn’t intact either, but for now he was still the Iron-Spider, super-hero and Avenger par excellence.  
“Alright then, let’s head back.”  
It was really weird: their mission was a success, but the ride was uncomfortably quiet, except for the radio.  
“Can I have my phone back? I want to text Aunt May.” Also, I need my phone to ignore all this awkwardness. Obviously, he only thought that last part, but it was his main motivator.  
“Yeah, of course. Sorry for taking it in the first place.”  
“Don’t worry, I get it.”  
\-----------  
Ned: Dude, what the hell?  
MJ: They’re really confiscating your phone now?  
Ned: Why though?  
MJ: Because they don’t trust us, duh  
Ned: But… I’m the guy in the chair…  
Peter: Hey guys, sorry about that. Fight’s over, we won and I got my phone back. And don’t worry, I have a feeling, they might trust us more from now on.  
\---------------  
Peter: Hey Aunt May, we’re back on our way to the compound. We won, no one got really hurt and we managed to destroy all the alien tech. Love you!  
\--------------  
For the rest of the ride, Peter kept daddling on his phone, including sending a silent command to KAREN’s headphones programme to play his fav playlist. The others didn’t need to know that he was zoning out.  
Finally they pulled in at the compound. “Alright, everyone to the medbay, get checked out and take a shower. We’ll debrief when the others get back.”  
The group headed towards the medbay. Peter probably wasn’t supposed to hear this, but he couldn’t help overhearing Mr. Stark whispering to Bruce: “Since the Hulk doesn’t get hurt and you’re probably unharmed, please check up on Pete. Check everything, every little scratch and tell me about it. I would ask myself, but I have a feeling I won’t get an answer…”  
“Yeah, no worries.”  
Mr. Stark wasn’t wrong. It’s not that he really did anything wrong, but for some reason, Peter was mad at him. And he didn’t really know why. Whatever.  
Peter sat up on one of the beds. Now it was getting serious. As soon as he took the suit off, he wouldn’t be able to pretend he was alright anymore. Taking a deep breath, Peter started to peel off the suit. During the crash, the automated nanotech must’ve been damaged…  
He didn’t dare to look at his arms, his legs, but Bruce’s worried face said it all. “Ok, let’s get all that cleaned up, I’m sure it won’t look that bad anymore once the dirt is gone.”  
Oh, but it did. Peter finally looked at his very sore body and it looked bad. It looked almost as bad as it felt.  
“Kid, you’re hurting. You can stop being all stoic and whatnot.” Bruce sat down next to him. “Even the Hulk hurts when he’s underneath a crashed building. I know that from a pretty reliable source. Listen, the mission is over. And as incredibly well as you did, Spider-Man is on break now and Peter is allowed to hurt. Ok?”  
“Ok.”  
“So, how do you feel?”  
“It hurts so bad!”, Peter whimpered.  
“I can only imagine. After all you have contusions, cuts, a twisted ankle, a cracked rib, dislocated shoulder... You want me to continue?”  
“No. Oh fuck, I was really stupid, wasn’t I?”  
Bruce smiled, widely. “You weren’t stupid. Reckless, yes, but not stupid. You took a calculated risk, got every last perp out there without them getting hurt… Well the one guy got knocked out, but he deserved it for putting a gun on you. Peter, you took charge when everything broke down – literally – you bossed the Avengers around and we listened to you. You were actually brilliant.”  
“Really?” Peter looked up at him, feeling pride rising up in his chest.  
“Really. I’m proud of you. And so are the others.”  
“Thanks! I would like to give you a hug, but I think it would really hurt.”  
Bruce laughed. “Yeah, probably. Ok, I’ll put your shoulder back in place now and it’s gonna be painful like hell. You ready?”  
“No.” He closed his eyes and held his breath. And damn! It hurt like hell! “FUCK!”  
“I’m going to let that one slide”, Bruce grinned and tousled his hair, “and I promise I’m not going to tell Steve.”  
“Thanks.” He held his shoulder. “Anything else you need to pop back into place?”  
“No”, he laughed.  
“Oh thank god!” Relieved, Peter fell back on the bed. And regretted it instantly. “Damnit!”  
“Yeah, that’d be your cracked rib and your scratched and battered back.”  
“Hnnngghhh”, Peter groaned sitting back up. “Great. Just great.”  
“Listen. You go and take a shower, get all that ash and rubble and dust cleaned off you. Afterwards, I’ll take care of your ankle and wrist, bandage them up. Alright?”  
“Yeah, I don’t think I can really make it to the bathroom…” His ankle was about triple its normal size and a dull ache shot up his leg when he only looked at it.  
“Yeah, there’s a shower down here. I assume you can hop or do I need to carry you?”  
“I think I can manage. I’d say I’ve been through worse than a shower…”  
“That you have. Alright, hop off then, I’ll get you a change of clothes in the meantime.”

Peter wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He had taken a shower, his broken everything was bandaged up and he had gotten a crutch to help him walk. He could only use the left one since his right wrist was busted, but better than nothing. By now he was in the living room, in some way to big jogging trousers and sweatshirt. He had also phoned with his aunt, didn’t tell her everything. What she didn’t know, wouldn’t make her upset, simple as that. He still hadn’t figured out how to explain the twists, and bandages and what else she’d see once she got here, but that was for another time to worry about.  
Mr. Rogers had also checked in. They had every bad guy locked up or in a guarded hospital room. Peter decided that he wasn’t needed at the debriefing, that car ride back was already uncomfortable enough. So now he was just lounging on one of the couches, as comfortably as his bruised everything let him, cuddled up in a blanket and went through twitter.  
“Hey, Peter, how’re you doing?” Pepper walked in and sat just next to him.  
“About as good as I can.”  
“You’re definitively look the part.”  
Slowly, and painfully, Peter sat up. “If you’re here to give me a speech about proofing myself and irresponsible behaviour, please don’t. I already got it from Steve, Clint and Bruce and will get two extra long ones from Tony and May. I don’t think there can be said much more. ”  
“I can imagine. And don’t worry, that’s not why I’m here.”  
Peter looked up at her and tried to read her face. But damnit, that was near damn impossible. She just smiled that warm, smile, not real indicators of why she was looking after him…  
“Why are you here?” Direct approach, should be more fruitful than some stupid guessing game.  
“I’m actually here on Tony’s behalf. No, don’t worry, he didn’t send me. But since it’s so hard to get him to tell me what’s troubling him, you are the next best option.”  
Now her expression changed. She still smiled, but Pepper looked sort of helpless. She really was worried about Tony, not Peter. She needed Peter’s help with Tony, not the other way around. Wow. That felt great! Not that Mr. Stark was in pain, but being asked for help!  
“I think that might kinda be my fault…”  
“Yeah, I doubt that.”  
But it was his fault. He was mad at Tony for trying to protect him, and instead got hurt. “Yeah it is. I didn’t listen to his orders and got buried under a building. And for some reason I’m mad at him, but I’m really not quite sure why. And the others made him keep his distance from me. So yeah, I’m at fault here.”  
“Huh. So Tony is angry at himself. Got it.”  
“Uhm, no, I just told you, he’s mad at me.”  
“No, he’s not.” Pepper put her hand on his shoulder. “He blames himself because all his efforts to protect you, well, they just pushed you away. And I think that’s why you’re mad as well.”  
“Huh.” That made sense. He was pissed about all the baby monitor programmes, how he was supposed to just stay back, only handle the little stuff…   
“So, the remaining question is: will you talk to him or should I?”  
“I think it might be all four of us…” Tony stood in the door, May next to him.  
Awesome, let’s make all of this more awkward.  
“Pete! What the hell happened?” His aunt ran for the sofa, carefully pulling the blanket off Peter. “Kid, you told me everything went alright! And you!” She turned towards Tony, who looked legit scared, and took a few steps backwards. “You promised me he’d be safe!”  
“It’s not his fault!” Peter jumped up. Which was a mistake. He fell right back onto the couch, whimpering at the pain shooting through his ankle.  
“PETER!” Before he could really react, all three adults were around him.  
“I’m fine, guys, I’m fine!” Ugh, he just wanted his space.  
“The fuck you are.” May sat down next to him, carefully taking his bandaged hand and stroked the hair out of his scratched-up face. “You look terrible. And I’ll kick whoever’s ass I have to.”  
“You wouldn’t beat up your own nephew, would you?” He tried to grin as innocently as he could.  
“No, she won’t, because her nephew is not to blame. I am.” Tony was kneeling in front of the couch, his head hung low.  
“That brings me to my next question: why is he all banged up while you are in perfect condition? In what situation did you put him?”  
“He didn’t put me in any situation!” Ugh, for fuck’s sake, could she just stop yelling for a moment, and let him explain himself? “JUST LISTEN TO ME!”  
“Peter, you zip it, this is between me and Tony.”  
He just wanted to scream, to yell at them to listen! That was all he wanted, to be listen to, to be treated as an equal! Even after all he did today, it did not change the situation.  
Pepper, who sat next to him, softly squeezed Peter’s hand and smiled at him. “May, I understand the urge to yell at Tony. As his fiancée probably better than anyone else. And Tony, I love you but you’re wallowing in self-pity... Like that’s productive. But if that’s all you can and want to do right now, you’ll have to excuse me and Peter. This whole situation started with people not listening to him and the only way we can resolve this is if you hear what Peter has to say.”  
Finally! Someone got it. Both May and Tony were quiet, looking first at Pepper, then at Peter. He stayed quiet a moment longer. If he really wanted to get his point across, he had to act the part.   
“First of all, don’t interrupt me. Let me finish and then you can yell at me or each other or whatever you want to. But I need to say this. I am not a little kid anymore. Stop treating me like one!” Breathe, Parker, stay calm. He took a deep breath before continuing. “What I did today, what I’ve done for quite a while now, was to show that I am worthy of being an equal to the rest of the Avengers and not just some wannabe.   
And yes, I was and I still am mad at you, for shit like ‘temper-tantrum’ and stuff. So, when you decided to keep me up on the ceiling, I decided I could do more. And I did. If I had listened to you, the bad guys would have gotten all those weapons, you would have a hole where your back is and we’d all be buried underneath that building. So, no, I am not feeling guilty at disobeying or whatever because it was a stupid order.   
Oh, and also, this is not just about me. Doubting Ned and MJ? Are you fucking kidding me? You really think they’d blab? You can’t be serious.” Oh, he got mad, he could feel how his voice pitched higher, bit by bit… He took another deep breath. “Ok, I’m done now. Don’t explain yourselves, because I’ve heard it way too many times before. No excuses either. So, accept it or don’t. Just let me know if you’re going to start yelling again, because if you do, Pepper and I will leave.”  
Wow, that felt good! Proudly, Pepper smiled and squeezed his hands again. He squeezed hers as well and turned to his aunt. He had mostly been looking either at the ceiling or down on the floor, only now he made eye contact. Both were quiet, letting his speech sink in.  
“Alright.” May carefully tousled his curls. “I believe that’s all that needs to be said now. Maybe except for how much I love you and how proud I am of my amazing Spider-Man.” She put a kiss on his head.  
“I love you, too.”  
“You have done a fantastic job, Pete. And yes, you saved my ass quite a few times today and I am incredibly grateful. Thanks. For everything.”  
“Well, I think dinner is in order. How about Pizza?” Pepper got up again. “Pete, you wanna give me a hand?”  
Oh, thank the heavens for Pepper. “Yes, please!” She held the crutch out to him and shot May a warning look. Presumably to stop her from helping him or something like that. He mouthed a silent ‘thanks’, before grabbing the crutch with his good, well, better hand and pulled himself up. It hurt like hell, but he needed to get out of here as fast as possible.   
“Thank you so much Pepper!”, Peter sighed, once they were out of earshot. “You are the absolute best.”  
“Oh, I am very aware. I’m a little worried about leaving Tony in there alone with May, but hell, you saved his life, he can take that bullet for you. Thanks for that by the way. Wouldn’t be too romantic to marry a headless Tony…”  
Peter giggled, which was hurting his cracked ribs only a little bit. “Anytime.”  
“I am proud of you. And I’m not talking the building, mission, Spidey-stuff from earlier, I’m talking about right now. It took guts, to stand up for yourself, your friends and saying clearly what you want and need. Hell of a job.”  
“Well, I’m lucky. I’m being mentored by an entire squad of superheroes. Some teach me science, some take down bad guys with me and some”, he nudged her shoulder with his, “help me become a better person.”

Peter and May decided it was best to spend the night at the compound. May was exhausted from work, Peter was exhausted from being buried, and after a nice, big dinner, neither felt like moving more than was necessary and everyone headed for bed pretty soon after dinner.  
“Hey, buddy, you have a moment?” Tony caught up with Peter and May, who were just about to enter his room.  
“Sure, what’s up?”  
“Why don’t I leave you be for a moment?” May smiled, before opening the door to Peter’s room. “Good night, Tony.”  
“Ok, I know you said no apologies, so I’m not apologizing. However, can we please agree that in the future you tell me when I’m being too…”  
“… smothering?”, Peter suggested. “Yeah, I’ve done it quite a few times already, not sure how to make it any clearer.” He was definitively still a little mad.   
“Yeah, I know. I am really trying to be more chill, can you be a bit patient with me? I…” Tony took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to dive head-first into trouble because you think I don’t believe in you. But I also don’t want to keep you and your incredible gifts in the dark or away from the action, you’re too good for that. If you can give me a little time and help, I’m sure I can figure it out. Promise.”  
He really was trying. “Wow, Pepper is really a good influence…”  
“Yeah, she is”, Tony laughed.  
“We’ll figure it out. Good night, Tony.”  
“Good night, Peter.”

“Wow, this mattress is incredible. Maybe we should move here, full time…” May lay next to Peter, one arm around him. It only took them ten minutes to find a sleeping position that didn’t hurt Peter too much, but he was ready to sleep till judgment day, if necessary.  
“Nothing beats the ceiling though…”, Peter giggled  
“Don’t even think about it, young man!” She tried to sound stern, but started giggling a few moments later as well.  
“Listen, I know you have a lot going on with how you’re treated, and I understand, I really do. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to explain to me everything that happened during today’s mission. Though I would like to understand how my boy is the only one who got hurt and all. Not now, but we’ll talk tomorrow, just you and me, and I promise not to get too angry, ok?”  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
“Ok. Now, sleep well, and don’t you dare snore!”  
“I love you, too, Aunt May!”


End file.
